Monday, October 21, 2013

Hallowe'en Soup




In Australia we don't tend to have fields of pumpkins lying waiting for us at this time of the year.  But when I made a pot of soup this week I realized that I must have been influenced by my recent indoctrination in the US.  This soup actually came about because I had a cauliflower that needed cooking, espied the butternut pumpkin and wondered how that would work. I cooked it as one would a standard vegetable soup and added cummin and turmeric as these are flavours I like with both cauliflower and pumpkin.  The amounts for the spices are indicative so please add what you would like.




It is my hommage from afar to the pumpkins in the US and to my fellow travellers who have allowed me to indulge in my fascination with the cult of the pumpkin. You know who you are!



Ingredients

1 butternut pumpkin
1/2 cauliflower
1 onion
Olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tsp cummin
1 tsp turmeric
2 litres chicken stock
1 tbs Greek yoghurt per serve

Mode

Slice the onion
Peel and press the garlic
Peel and roughly chop the pumpkin
 Heat olive oil in a pan or pot large enough to contain the soup
Add onion and cook until soft
Add garlic, cummin and turmeric and mix
Add chopped pumpkin and stir
Break cauliflower into florets and add to mixture
Allow vegetables and spices to sweat for a while until flavours are mixed
Add the chicken stock
Bring to the boil
Reduce to simmer and simmer until all the vegetables are tender
Check for flavours and add more cummin and/or turmeric according to taste
If needed, simmer to incorporate extra spices
Blend until smooth
Place a tablespoon of Greek yoghurt in each serving bowl and add soup
Enjoy!